


Remind Me (That I'm Worth It)

by HidingintheInkwell



Category: Phineas and Ferb
Genre: 5+1 Things, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Little bit of angst, Phineas is a great brother, mostly self-doubting Ferb
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-01
Updated: 2020-03-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:35:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22964746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HidingintheInkwell/pseuds/HidingintheInkwell
Summary: Five times Phineas has to remind Ferb that he's something special and one time Ferb returns the favor.
Relationships: Ferb Fletcher & Phineas Flynn
Comments: 7
Kudos: 177





	Remind Me (That I'm Worth It)

**Author's Note:**

> Ironically, I was trying to get this up as a 2 year anniversary of me having an account with all of you, but I didn't. So I figured a day that happens only once every four years was the next best thing! Happy Leap Year everyone!!!!  
> \--HidingintheInkwell

Brilliant:

“You were brilliant today, Ferb.”

Ferb glanced over at the redhead as he finished buttoning up his pajama shirt. Phineas had already changed and was lounging back in his bed with his arms under his head. The day’s invention had been a modification on their all-in-one amusement park, being more interactive and less juicy. They’d both agreed that that had been a weird way to end the ride, and had come to a mutual decision to never invent something that would leave them sticky at the end of the day. 

He finished the last of the buttons and climbed into his own bed, reaching for a book without taking his eyes away from his brother. Phineas was looking at him with a soft look he only seemed to reserve for Ferb and Perry. “I’m serious! The way you managed to plan the timing perfectly for everyone to get to take the ferris wheel around twice before the rocketing off to the mega bounce, I never could have worked that out so precisely. I probably would have miscalculated something in my excitement and we’d have ended up stuck upside down, or on the wrong end of the water pistol competition. You’re brilliant, Ferb!”

Ferb just shrugged, feeling something ease slightly in his chest. At the start of the summer, Phineas had referred to him as more of a “man of action”. Ferb didn’t mind the title, the talking was more Phineas’s area anyway, but it seemed his step-brother got all the praise for the “brilliant inventions of Phineas and his step-brother”. He was always the ones their friends-- or the strangers who came to partake in their adventures-- credited for the success. Phineas was the brilliant one, Ferb was just the one who got it down on paper and started building. 

He was just settling back and opening his book when he felt his bed dip and a freckled hand was taking his book from him. “I’m serious, Ferb,” Phineas said when the green-haired boy looked up to glare and demand his book back. “I know they all call me brilliant and give me the credit for our inventions, but you’re the one who takes all my crazy ideas and makes them work. It’s really you who should be taking the credit for all of this, not me. You’re the brilliant one, Ferb.”

Ferb smiled, feeling his neck beginning to warm. “You’re brilliant too, Phin,” he replied. “Without your crazy inventions, I’d have nothing to bring to life.” 

The grin that split Phineas’s face was far too bright for this late in the evening, but it pleased Ferb all the same. “Great! Then it’s settled! We’re both brilliant!” With that, Ferb had his book back in his hands and Phineas was back under his covers, breath already evening out with sleep. Looking down at the hardcover, then over to his sleeping brother, Ferb decided to forgo reading for the night. Brilliance was exhausting, and he’d need all the sleep he could get before their combined brilliance broke the universe again tomorrow. Sparing one last glance at the red-head, Ferb put his book away and turned out the light, the warm feeling in his chest lulling him off to sleep. 

Weird (or Lack Thereof):

_ “That british kid is weird.” _

_ “I know! What’s with his hair? There’s no way that’s natural, so he has to dye it, but why that color? It’s such a weird shade of green. Like seaweed.” _

_ “It’s too bad Phineas has to be saddled with such a weirdo for a brother. Think of how far he could go without  _ him _ weighing him down!” _

_ “Do you think that’s why Phineas talks so much? Because he’s trying to fill the silence of having a dummy for a brother?” _

_ “Pfft. What a weirdo.” _

Ferb blocked out the voices and clutched the straps of his backpack a little tighter as he pushed through the wave of students all eagerly trying to get their belongings out of their lockers and make a break for the outside. It was the start of Spring Break, and the Flynn-Fletcher household had already decided to split the time between visiting both sets of grandparents. Phineas had already spent the week making plans of all they could do. “It’s like a mini-Summer, Ferb! Or a Pre-Summer!” Ferb had nodded along to his brother’s enthusiasm, forming rough sketches for their plans so they wouldn’t have to waste time starting over from scratch. 

As he pushed through the doorway and out onto the steps in front of the school, he saw Phineas standing with a group of their friends, and some of the admirers he’d accumulated. Irving was suspiciously absent; probably shoved into someone’s locker or dragged away by his brother. Likely for the better, Ferb thought as he walked over to join them. The shorter boy would likely try to insert himself into their Spring Break plans, which would only make the whole week awkward as the rest of their friends had their own plans and wouldn’t be joining them. 

When he was only a couple of feet away, he felt his stomach tighten. He recognized a couple of the “admirers” as the kids who thought he was weird, who thought Phineas would be better off without him. He debated turning and walking in the opposite direction before realizing that it would be ridiculous. The five of them always walked home together unless someone had a club meeting or an appointment, and since he had neither, his absence would only lead to questions he didn’t want to answer. So instead he pasted on a smile and stepped up next to his step-brother. “Oh, there you are, Ferb!” Phineas exclaimed with a wide grin. “Baljeet was just telling us that his family was going back to visit their relatives in India for Spring Break.” With that the boys were off talking about architecture and anything and everything they could think of, but Ferb could feel eyes on him and when he looked up it was to see the kids who thought he was weird practically glaring daggers at him. He had to resist the urge to shrink away from the skathing looks. 

That evening after dinner, the boys were doing homework in their room when Ferb felt eyes on him. Looking up, he found Phineas watching him with a crease between his brows. “Are you okay, Ferb? You’ve been quieter than usual. Did something happen at school?” Ferb quickly shook his head and offered what he hoped was a genuine smile. It must have fallen flat somewhere because Phineas’s frown only grew deeper. Sensing he wouldn’t get any peace until his brother’s worries were put to rest, Ferb closed his binder and set it aside. “It’s nothing, Phineas. Just some people saying things.” 

Any hopes he might have had that that response would be enough to appease his brother were dashed as the redhead put aside his own homework and crossed the room to take up post at the foot of Ferb’s bed. “Must have been some pretty big things. I saw you distancing yourself after school, and Isabella had to call your name three times when she asked if you’d read the latest quantum physics article the Norwegian branch of the Fireside Girls had printed.” 

Ferb felt his face warm. “Really, Phineas. I’m fine. I just let some words get into my head, that’s all.”  _ Let it go,  _ Ferb silently pleaded, and to his relief Phineas nodded and moved to return to his bed. The two went back to studying in silence, but Ferb felt unsaid questions burning at the back of his throat. After a long while of silence, he let them escape. 

“Phineas?” He didn’t look up from his textbook, but he could hear the skritching of the other’s pencil pause and felt those dark eyes back on him. “You don’t think I’m weird, do you?” Phineas was silent for so long Ferb found himself looking up to see what the other boy’s reaction was. Phineas was staring at him with wide eyes. “Is that what this is all about? Someone called you weird?” Ferb could feel the foolishness at the idea starting to pool sourly in his stomach when Phineas started speaking again. “No, Ferb. You’re not weird. In fact, you’re the most normal person I know! Anyone who calls you weird is the weirdo.” 

Ferb cracked a small, genuine smile. “I know it’s silly. It’s just, I overheard some kids in the hallway saying that you could go so much farther if you didn’t have me weighing you down. If you didn’t have a weirdo for a brother…” The last bit trailed off as he watched Phineas’s face turn a shade darker than his hair. “That is not true, Ferb,” his brother replied, voice surprisingly calm despite his obvious anger. “First off, you are  _ not  _ a weirdo, but I’ve already made that point so I’ll move on. Secondly, there is  _ no way  _ you’re weighing me down. If anything, I’m weighing  _ you  _ down! You’re a brilliant architect and engineer, and our inventions would be nothing but ideas if I didn’t have you to help me bring them to life. We’re a team, Ferb. So if you’re a weirdo, then we’re both weirdos. But you’re not, so there’s no need to worry about it. And if I ever figure out who said those things about you, they’re going to wish they’d never heard the names Phineas Flynn and Ferb Fletcher.”

Phineas’s face was still a blotchy red and his chest was heaving like he’d run a marathon, but his eyes were determined and brokered no argument. Not that Ferb would have given him one anyway. The sick feeling and self-doubt had evaporated, replaced by warmth and pride. “Team Weirdo, then,” he said, drawing a laugh from his brother. Phineas’s face broke out in a bright smile that Ferb couldn’t help but return. “Don’t listen to them, Ferb. People who think you’re weird don’t know what they’re talking about. Now come on, if we finish our homework tonight, we’ll be free to have fun all Spring Break!”

As Ferb picked back up his textbook, he cast one more glance at the vibrant redhead and felt the last bits of self-doubt vanish. Maybe he was a little weird, but that was okay. He was part of Team Weird, and nothing could ever change that. 

Genius:

“Ferb, you’re a genius!”

Ferb wouldn’t go  _ that  _ far, he’d simply pointed out an anomaly the red-head had missed that had been causing issues. Phineas was the real genius between the two of them. He’d been the one to come up with the Mega Epic Indoor Skydiving Park of Awesomeness (they’d let Buford name it), all Ferb had done was point out that a minor change in the way the tunnels were situated would help maintain velocity and airflow without risking injury to the flyer. Phineas would have come to the same conclusion given enough time, or even Baljeet once he’d found the right equation. Ferb had just come to it first. 

“No, Ferb, I’m serious! You, sir, are an absolute genius! Now we can minimize the risk of injury while maximizing fun! Come on, team! Let’s get building!” 

Not Too Quiet:

“Hey Dinner Bell, are you sure Ferb isn’t some kinda ninja or something?”

“Pretty sure, why?”

“Because he’s always so quiet. A little  _ too _ quiet… It’s creepy, man. And everybody knows there are only two kinds of people who are too quiet: ninjas, and assassins. And Robots. Ferb isn’t a robot, is he?”

Ferb glanced over to see his brother staring at the stocky boy as though waiting for him to declare the whole thing a joke, but when no additional comment was made, Phineas burst out laughing. “While we did make robots of ourselves a couple summers back, I’m pretty sure I didn’t somehow end up with a Ferbot for a brother. And I’m sure I’d know it if my brother was a ninja or an assassin or something. He’s just more of a man of action. Why are you just bringing it up now?”

The neighborhood bully just shrugged. “I don’t know. I was just adding up all the times I’ve heard him speak, and I realized I think I’ve heard Biff make more sounds than Ferb does.” Phineas nodded as though in understanding before quickly changing the subject and redirecting Buford’s attention to the construction of their Epic Super Imax 5D Theater they were building. Ferb went back to the soundboard he was wiring, but he found his mind spinning around what Buford had said. He knew that the self-proclaimed bully hadn’t meant anything by the question, but it did make him start to wonder if he really was  _ too  _ quiet. He’d never been big on talking, finding it wasn’t really necessary to speak in order to make himself be understood, especially when Phineas seemed to have a seventh sense to Ferb’s thoughts and could easily tell what Ferb wanted to convey without the Brit having to say a word. 

Ferb was also acutely aware that Phineas was a rarity, and that his aversion to the spoken language and his lack of facial expressions tended to put people off on more than one occasion. Even their friends had made mention of it when they’d first met, wondering if maybe Ferb was Mute or something. Teachers would regularly bring up his silence during Parent conferences, or catch Phineas in the hall and ask him if he knew what the situation was. Even Candace had made more than one mention back when Ferb’s dad was still dating her and Phineas’s mom. 

Distracted by his thoughts, Ferb didn’t realize he was crossing wires until an electrical shock jolted his hands and made his fingers go numb. He dropped the wires with a hiss, examining the reddened digits to make sure there was no visible damage. Flexing his hands to bring the feeling back to them, he moved to pick the wires back up to finish working when a smaller, freckled pair of hands took his in their own, turning them over and examining for themselves that there was no damage done. Looking up, he found Phineas crouched next to him with a worries crease pinching his brows. Off in the distance their friends were busy with their tasks, completely oblivious to the two brothers. 

“Are you alright, Ferb? I could hear your hiss from across the yard.” 

Ferb nodded, feeling embarrassment warm his face. He knew his hiss really hadn’t been too loud, their friends probably hadn’t even noticed it over the sounds of construction, and Phineas had always had that extra sense when it came to Ferb, but it was the fact that his brother had caught his misstep and pulled himself away from their invention to check on the Brit that had him chastising himself for his carelessness. “I’m fine, Phineas. Just accidentally crossed a couple wires, that’s all.”

He knew instantly that was probably the wrong thing to say. Phineas’s brows shot for his hairline and his eyes widened to the size of saucers. Ferb  _ never  _ miswired anything. Even when half asleep or sick out of his head, he always got the order of wires correct. “Okay,” Phineas said, voice gratefully low so as not to carry across the lawn, “now I know something’s wrong. What’s got your mind so mixed up, Ferbooch? Did something happen? Did someone say something?”

Ferb sighed, eyes drifting across to their group of friends before landing back on his brother. Phineas had never mentioned what he thought about Ferb’s silence, other than to defend him to strangers, but then neither had any of their friends until they’d started this project. “You don’t think I’m too quiet, do you?” He asked hesitantly, both dreading and needing to hear Phineas’s response. “You don’t think it’s creepy?”

Phineas stared at him for a long moment, long enough to start to make Ferb a little uncomfortable. “No, Ferb, you’re not too quiet, and it’s not creepy. Is that really what had your mind so occupied?” He waited until Ferb nodded hesitantly before continuing. “Ferb, when have I  _ ever  _ said anything about your silence? Have I ever once since we met asked about it or mentioned that I thought it was odd?” Again another pause while Ferb shook his head, feeling embarrassment warm his neck again and he twisted his fingers together in his lap. Phineas smiled. “Ferb, your silence is part of what makes you you. I accepted that a long time ago, and let’s be honest, has it ever slowed us down? I don’t care that you don’t speak, because I always know what you’re saying anyway. So no, you’re not too quiet, Ferb. You’re you! Now come on, let’s put this silliness aside and get back to our movie theater!” 

Bounding back to his feet, Phineas gave the green-haired boy a quick but tight hug before bounding off back to the project he’d abandoned. Smiling to himself, Ferb turned back to his wiring, finishing it quickly and screwing the panel back into place.

Worth It:

Ferb lay in his bed with the blanket pulled over him, his breath echoing loudly in the dark space. A sick feeling sat cold and heavy in the bottom of his stomach as his mind swirled over the events of the day. He curled himself into a tighter ball. 

He knew ultimately it wasn’t his fault, it was a freak accident that could have happened at any time to anyone, but it hadn’t. It had happened to Phineas, and it was Ferb’s fault. He’d been the one to go over the blueprints before they’d gotten started. He should have anticipated the probability of that beam coming loose under the weight of the lighting displays, leading it to become a perilous pendulum. But he hadn’t. He’d okayed the design and they’d gotten started. They hadn’t even been half done when they’d all heard the wrenching sound of metal on metal right before the heavy beam--made heavier by the 50lbs of lights attached to it--turned into a battering ram that could rival the ones made by the race of teddy bear-looking creatures in that space movie Buford had made them watch. What would have been rather unfortunate for Ferb, was that it was swinging in his direction, and he had been too slow to respond. He’d closed his eyes, fully expecting to have the full weight of metal and lighting equipment make contact with him, when something decidedly smaller but no less powerful had plowed into him from a different direction. 

Phineas’s momentum had sent them both out of the way of the beam, which had ended up getting tangled in some loose wires and wound up harmlessly tied up like a fly in a web, but the two boys had ended up sliding over the edge of the stage and falling five feet to the ground. They’d both had the breath knocked out of them, but when Ferb had caught his and pushed himself upright, it was to see Phineas still lying on the ground, face pinched as he held his arm against his chest. 

They’d been lucky, it was just a sprain when it could have been so much worse. Phineas was given a brace to keep it immobilized, and ordered to do no strenuous inventions for at least two weeks (their doctor had been familiar with their work and had voiced his amazement that he hadn’t met either of the boys sooner). When their mom had come to pick them up, Phineas had told her he’d fallen out of the tree. She’d scolded them and warned them to be more careful, but then they’d stopped for smoothies on the way home. 

Ferb had been hiding in his room since. While they’d been gone their friends had cleaned up the remains of their failed invention before going to their respective homes to wait for news, and he knew Phineas would be busy for a while calling them to assure them he was fine, and then their mom would want to fuss over him for a time, so Ferb was left alone to wallow in his guilt. Phineas had already told him that it was fine, that none of it was Ferb’s fault and it was just a matter of time before something happened. “I mean, think about it. I could have broken my arm tripping over a tree root or stepping on my own shoelace. Instead I just get a sprain saving my brother’s life. How lucky is that?!”

Ferb was glad his brother was taking it all so well, but that didn’t mean he felt any less guilty. It wasn’t that it was just a sprained wrist, it was Phineas’s  _ left  _ wrist. His dominant hand. Sure, the redhead was pretty good at ambidexterity, but that didn’t change the fact that he wasn’t going to really be able to invent for the next two weeks or longer. All because Ferb had been too slow to jump out of the way, had not taken into consideration weight and tensile strength before okaying their designs. 

The sick feeling had wedged its way into his throat when Ferb felt a weight settle next to him on the bed. He thought at first it was Perry, back from his day’s adventure, but this one seemed bigger, heavier. Their mom, maybe? Or Candace coming to investigate the real reason her biological brother had been hurt? 

“Ferb, I know you’re not asleep under there. I think we need to talk.” 

_ Phineas.  _ Of course it was Phineas. How could he have even thought it would be anyone else. Under the protective cover of his bedding, Ferb shook his head. He heard Phineas sigh. “Ferb, you’ve gotta stop beating yourself up over this! I’m fine, I promise! It coulda been worse, that thing could have hit  _ you!” _ Ferb wished it had been him. He could have handled being immobile for a few weeks, could have dealt with having a broken bone or broken arm lugging him down. Experience told everyone Phineas could  _ not  _ do passive. The day Baljeet had decided he needed to prove himself and climb Danville Mountain had shown that tenfold. If Phineas wasn’t able to design, to invent, for even more than a few hours, he was going to go crazy! Let alone two weeks! 

A low whine escaped his throat, and a second later he found himself blinking in the bedroom lights, the cool air prickling his sweat dampened skin as he found himself staring up into a look of fond exasperation. “Ferb,” the redhead started, “please stop beating yourself up over this. I’m fine! Really! It’s just a sprained wrist, and it’ll be fine in a couple weeks.” Ferb shook his head, feeling his throat grow tight at how easily his brother was taking this. “But Phineas, that’s your dominant hand. If it’s all wrapped up, then you can’t use it, and if you can’t use it then you can’t invent. The last time you couldn’t invent I thought you were going to have an absolute meltdown, and that was just for a few hours! This is for a few  _ weeks _ !”

Phineas blinked at him in surprise. “Wow, Ferb, that’s the longest tangent I think I’ve ever heard from you! But I think you’re overreacting. I mean, it’s not like I’m completely incapacitated, so I can at least write down ideas and then have you draw them up for me, or I can put them on our computer. You’re making a big deal out of nothing, Ferb. I’ve come closer to worse without it involving saving my brother from being put in a full body cast. Remember that time we tried to make that haunted house and I fell like 20 feet?”

Ferb flinched at the reminder, at the memory of the nightmares that had haunted him for weeks afterwards. He opened his mouth to protest again, to try and argue that Phineas shouldn’t have shoved him out of the way because Phineas was the mastermind behind their inventions, not Ferb, but he was interrupted by a hand clamping down over his mouth. 

“No, Ferb. Stop it. It wasn’t your fault, and given the choice I would still do it a thousand times over. You’re worth it, Ferb. You’re worth so much more than a sprained wrist and a minor inconvenience, you hear me?” Phineas waited until Ferb had nodded before he removed his hand and instead grabbed the Brit’s arm, tugging him out of the bed. “Good. Now that that’s settled, mom says dinner's almost ready so we should get down there. I can’t wait to try eating Chinese food with my right hand!”

As Ferb let the redhead drag him down the stairs, he felt some of the guilt melt away. 

_____________________

Perfect Just the Way You Are:

Phineas knew what most people thought of him. They thought he was brilliant, that he was a genius, ambitious, some would even say he was a little big for his britches but he knew they didn’t always mean it in a bad way, at least not all the time. The thing was, though, they thought he was oblivious. They thought he didn’t hear the whispers through all the noise of his brain coming up with the latest and greatest; that he didn’t notice the way Isabella fawned over him all the time, or how his teachers would murmur to one another about he truly was a brilliant kid, and could do so much with his life if he only put aside his foolish childishness and  _ applied  _ himself. They’d be graduating before too much longer, and schools across the globe had been approaching him with interest for years, but they all wanted him for one thing or another. They all wanted him to  _ be  _ one thing or another. An engineer, a computer tech, an architect, a businessman. 

_ That kid is so weird. I mean, I heard a rumor that he and some others built this massive rollercoaster when they were in grade school. Obviously a lie. I mean, I’ve heard other people say they rode it or they heard it, but there’s no evidence! Who would trust a kid to make something like that? _

_ That Phineas, he’s such a bright child, he could do wonderful things when he gets older. If only he would pull his head out of the clouds and focus on reality.  _

_ Ah yes, Phineas Flynn. We’ve had our eye on him for quite some time. We could use a mind like that working for us. Think of the weapons he could create, the tracking software he could invent that would help us track terrorists even faster than we currently can.  _

Phineas’s mind pulled away from the needling thoughts as he trudged up the steps to his room. Ferb had had a club meeting after school, so Phineas had come home by himself, grateful for the alone time to try and get his thoughts together. Even as he pushed them back, though, more cropped up in their place. 

_ Why can’t you just be normal! _

He knew Candace had just been angry and scared. They’d been young, she’d been so desperate to be seen as responsible, in charge, an adult. She’d mellowed out as they got older, had calmed down and even apologized and explained her actions, but that didn’t mean the words hadn’t left a mark. Coming from strangers, Phineas could forget it. Could ignore it because they didn’t know him. But coming from a member of his family, that had hurt far more. Especially when so much of what they’d built over the years had been in hopes that she’d tell them she was proud of them. 

Pushing open the door to his room, he was unsurprised to find Perry’s favorite spot devoid of teal platypus. He’d stopped being surprised by his pet’s vanishing act years ago. Instead he dropped his backpack next to his dresser and face planted on the bed. Despite his best efforts to shut them out, his brain continued to swirl with self-deprecating thoughts. They even tried to go so far as to blame him for his father having left all those years ago, but Phineas shut them down swiftly and firmly. He hadn’t even been old enough to remember his biological dad, and besides, he had a great dad and a great step-brother. And he had bigger things to worry about. 

Pulling his pillow over his head, he closed his eyes and tried to shut his brain up with thoughts of what cool inventions he could draw up next. He didn’t even notice he had company until the dip in his bed changed and the pillow was pulled off his head. He blinked and turned to see Ferb watching him with one brow raised. Without either boy needing to say anything, Ferb just shook his head and patted Phineas’s shoulder. That action alone said everything that needed to be said, and the swirling thoughts finally settled. Smiling, Phineas sat up and reached for his blueprints pad. 

_ Stop thinking so hard. You’re perfect just the way you are.  _

_ ~END~ _

  
  



End file.
